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BRONSON SWEEPS VOLUSIA SUNSHINE NATIONALS WITH $10K WIN
DeLEON SPRINGS, FL – Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL got out his broom and swept up the competition collecting $13,500 along the way after winning his third straight Sunshine Nationals race on Saturday night co-sanctioned by the Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series and the DIRTcar Pro Late Model Series at Volusia Speedway Park.
Bronson drove the Brandon Ford Rocket to a $1,500 win on Thursday night, a $2,000 win on Friday night, and then just made it to victory lane on Saturday night for a $10,000 victory. The left-rear tire on Bronson’s car was flat as he pulled into Victory Lane. The tire was cut down in an epic battle with Michael Page of Douglasville, GA in which contact was the rule rather than the exception.
“We cut down that tire on the first restart on lap 14 and the car kept getting looser, so I knew it was going down,” Bronson said. “I just kept telling the tire to please hang in there during those last five laps. Page and I had some words during the red flag, but we worked it out and he said let’s race. To me, when you come to race in Florida, rubbin’s racin’ and we’re going to trade paint and bend some quarter panels, but oh well, they make them every day.”
Bronson and Page swapped the lead three times in spectacular fashion with side jobs and crossover moves that kept the packed house on their feet watching the leaders go at it. Brandon Williams of Crossville, TN made the battle for the lead a three-car dance with his Jeff Woods Construction Capital Race Car, but he dropped out with five laps to go while running second with a broken fuel pump.
Page finished a close second in his 16-year-old Troy Beard Racing Mastersbilt and Walker Arthur of Forest, VA took the third spot in the Cecil B. Arthur Beef Farms Kryptonite. Mark Whitener of Middleburg, FL started his ULC Motorsports Barry Wright 21st and finished fourth to earn the Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Hard Charger Award.
Jason Fitzgerald of Middleburg, FL came back from a lap 14 spin to finish fifth in the Southway Crane and Rigging Black Diamond. Max Blair of Centerville, PA was sixth in the Murphy’s Logging Rocket, and seventh went to Randy Weaver of Crossville, TN in the B&M Concrete CVR.
Two-time Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Champion Cory Hedgecock of Loudon, TN finished eighth in the Eagle Racing Engines Rocket and Trynt Lloyd of Jacksonville, FL took the ninth spot in the Tom Kelly Construction Longhorn. Dillon Brown of Gaffney, SC rounded out the top ten in the Cherokee Landscaping Longhorn.
In preliminary action, Trever Taylor of Zellwood, FL in the Envy Suspension Snow Brothers out-timed the 43-car field during Pace Performance Quick Time Qualifying with a lap around the half-mile clay oval in 17.018 seconds.
The four KRC Power Steering eight-lap Heat Races were won by Page, Brown, Weaver, and Corey Almond of Appomattox, VA in the AA Contractors Longhorn. The two ten-lap Last Chance Showdown Races were won by Whitener and 2018 Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA National Champion Ashton Winger of Hampton, GA in the Johnny Doan Plumbing Rocket.
The only strategy for a 30-lap race paying $10,000-to-win is to get to the front as quickly as you can and then try to stay there. The 26-car field did not disappoint from the drop of the green flag. Page came from his third starting spot to dive under polesitter Walker and outside front row starter Weaver in the first turn.
Bronson came from the fifth starting hole to move up to third going down the backstretch. Page led lap one followed by Weaver, Bronson, Arthur and Fitzgerald. Lap two saw Fitzgerald get by Arthur for fourth, and Bronson dove under Weaver in turn four to slide job his way up to second on lap three.
Williams came from the tenth starting spot to hurry into the fourth spot on lap four. Williams was on a mission, as he passed his Crossville, TN neighbor Weaver for the third spot on lap seven.
The first pass for the lead took place on lap ten when Bronson threw a slider on Page in turn three and then came up over Page’s nose coming off turn four to take the point. Bronson led Page into the cars on the tail end of the lead lap by the 12th tour, but they didn’t play in the traffic very long.
The caution flag came out on lap 14 for debris on the front straightaway. The field lined up for the Dixie-Style Double-File Restart with Bronson in the lead followed by Page, Williams, Weaver, Fitzgerald, defending Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA National Champion Jake Knowles of Rome, GA, Lloyd, Almond, and Blair doubled up behind the leader.
On the restart, Page dove to the inside of Bronson in turn one and the lead pair made contact. That gave the lead to Williams, but when Bronson and Page gather up their machines, that caused the rest of the field to check up and accordion into a mess five-wide going down the back straightaway.
The cars running fifth on back never got things sorted out and Fitzgerald spun. The big one was wading up in four. A total of seven cars were involved in a pile up behind Fitzgerald, who went to the rear of the field for the restart after being ticketed with the caution flag.
Bronson and Page caught a break as a lap had not been completed, and they restarted first and second respectively with Williams in third. When the green flag came back out, Page drove under the back end of Bronson’s car, lifted it up in the air, and sat it back down going into turn one. Page tried to make a move under Bronson, but the leader came charging back on the outside to stay out front.
A multi-car wreck in turn two on lap 15 brought out a red flag. It appeared that Knowles and Blair got together in turn two while battling for the fifth spot. Knowles had to park his Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Longhorn after being taken to the pits on the back of a wrecker.
While the red flag was out, Bronson and Page parked next to each other on the front straightaway to discuss the wrecker or checkers racing that was going on for $10,000. By the time they fired their Chevrolet Performance 604 Engines back up for the restart, both drivers had an understanding of what kind of race it was going to be, and that was more of the same.
When the field went back to green flag racing it was Slide Job City and Crossover County, as Bronson and Page traded paint, sheet metal, racing grooves, the first and second spots, everything except Christmas Cards. Page threw a slider on Bronson to take the lead on the restart in turn two. Bronson came back to return the favor in turn four on lap 16.
The wild and wooly action was slowed on lap 18 when Jeff Mathews of Brandon, FL hit the front straightaway wall in the CURS Rocket to light up the yellow LEDs for the fourth time. Bronson had Page, Williams, Arthur, Blair, Weaver, Whitener, Lloyd, Brown, and Almond doubled up behind him for the restart.
Williams came out with the lead in turn two getting by both Bronson and Page. Bronson got up a head of steam going into turn three and he threw a tight and inside slider on Williams to retake the lead coming off the fourth turn. By lap 20, Bronson pulled out to a six-tenth of the second lead over Williams.
The night came to an end for Williams when he slowed on lap 26 to bring out the caution flag. With the field inside five laps to go, it was a single-file restart with Bronson leading Page, Arthur, Blair, Whitener, Weaver, Fitzgerald, Lloyd, Brown, and Hedgecock.
Bronson was able to keep the bottom covered in the five lap dash to the finish. Page stayed close, but Bronson was able to take a .330 second margin of victory under the checkered flag. By the time Bronson cleared the scales, all of the air was gone out of his left-rear tire.
The next three races for the Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series will be Rounds 5, 6, and 7 of the Winter Shootout Series at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL with a pair of $2,500-to-win races on Thursday night, January 30 and Friday night, January 31, and a $5,000-to-win race on Saturday night, February 1.
For more information and rules about the Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site atwww.crateracinusa.com, or visit the series on Facebook at Durrence Layne Racing. You can follow us on Twitter @DurrenceLayneRacing.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 4 FOR THE WINTER SHOOTOUT SERIES AT VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK IN DeLEON SPRINGS, FL ON 1/18/20:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS
1. 5 40b Kyle Bronson Brandon, FL 30
2. 3 18x Michael Page Douglasville, GA 30
3. 1 87 Walker Arthur Forest, VA 30
4. 21 5 Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL 30
5. 4 7 Jason Fitzgerald Middleburg, FL 30
6. 11 111 Max Blair Centerville, PA 30
7. 2 116 Randy Weaver Crossville, TN 30
8. 23 14 Cory Hedgecock Loudon, TN 30
9. 9 2 Trynt Lloyd Jacksonville, FL 30
10. 7 6 Dillon Brown Gaffney, SC 30
11. 24 17 Nevin Gainey Fort White, FL 30
12. 8 7a Corey Almond Appomattox, VA 30
13. 23 71 Pierce McCarter Gatlinburg, TN 30
14. 12 11 Cruz Skinner Oxford, AL 30
15. 17 74 Mike Franklin Winchester, VA 30
16. 20 38p Trey Pearson Callahan, FL 30
17. 15 33 Jeff Mathews Brandon, FL 30
18. 19 84 Sam Halstead Newlondon, IA 29
19. 10 95 Brandon Williams Crossville, TN 25
20. 6 66 Jake Knowles Rome, GA 14
21. 22 9 Ashton Winger Hampton, GA 14
22. 16 J8 Jadon Frame Decherd, TN 13
23. 14 K37 Drew Kennedy Lancing, TN 13
24. 18 7t Trever Taylor Zellwood, FL 13
25. 26 4 Justin Litchford Chattanooga, TN 13
26. 25 66k Jody Knowles Tyrone, GA 13
ENTRIES: 43
PACE PERFORMANCE QUICK TIME FAST QUALIFIER: Taylor, 17.018 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Jo. Knowles and Litchford
LEAD CHANGES: 3
LAP LEADERS: Page, 1-9; Bronson, 10-14; Page, 15; Bronson, 16-30
LAPS LED: Bronson, 20; Page, 10
KNOWLES RACE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Whitener (started 21st and finished 4th)
KRC HEAT RACE WINNERS: Page, Almond, Brown, Weaver
CAUTIONS: 5
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .330 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 43 Minutes and 51.720 Seconds
NEXT RACE: 1/30/20, East Bay Raceway Park, Tampa, FL, $2,500-to-win
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